As we’re living the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been covering our mouths, washing our hands and practising “social distancing.” But the conversation is shifting from “social distancing” towards “physical distancing”.

Why this term change? It is because of the unseen impact of social distancing and isolation on our mental health and emotional well being. Knowing the difference can help us improve our mental health during these unprecedented times.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) would be the first one who has started using the phrase "physical distancing" instead of "social distancing" as a way to prevent the spread of the novel corona virus from people to people, a move widely welcomed by experts as a step in the "right direction".

At a daily news briefing on March 20, officials of the global health body said while maintaining a physical distance was "absolutely essential" amid the global pandemic, "it does not mean that socially we have to disconnect from our loved ones, from our family.

Furthermore, if we used the social distancing term, we are more likely refer to create a physical space between one another and avoiding large gatherings and it slightly close to isolation ourselves instead of communicate and deal with our friends via Skype.

In my opinion, as student who had experiencing these new norms. I would say the best term is physical distancing because of we still manage to attend the classes and communicate with friends via Skype or another social platform.